Environment

• OS: Rocky Linux 8.10
• Ruby: 3.1.4 (EOL I know)
• Gems:: bundler 2.4.22, http 5.3.0, lhttp 0.6.1

Problem

After the recent switch to the llhttp native Ruby binding (#800), using the http gem in environments that rely on Bundler’s --standalone mode results in a LoadError when requiring the native extension. This is due to the way llhttp loads its native extension using require_relative, which fails when the extension is not located relative to the Ruby file (as is common in standalone or custom deployment setups).

Error example:

LoadError:
  cannot load such file -- /app/bundle/ruby/3.1.0/gems/llhttp-0.5.0/lib/llhttp_ext
# ./bundle/ruby/3.1.0/gems/llhttp-0.5.0/lib/llhttp/parser.rb:52:in `require_relative'
# ...

Analysis

• The http gem now depends on llhttp instead of llhttp-ffi, which currently uses require_relative to load its native extension.
• In some deployment setups (notably with bundle install --standalone), the compiled extension is not in the expected relative location, causing a LoadError.
• This issue has been reported and a fix submitted upstream to the llhttp gem: LoadError when requiring native extension with require_relative in Parser.rb bryanp/llhttp#33 and Do not use require_relative with native extension bryanp/llhttp#34.

Suggested Action

• Consider documenting this issue for users of the http gem until the fix is released in llhttp.
• Optionally, add a compatibility note or version constraint for llhttp in the http gem’s dependencies to ensure users get the fixed version once released.
• If possible, add a test or CI job for Bundler standalone mode to catch similar issues in the future. (I know this is kind of niche 🤷‍♂ )